ANC claims municipal budget made a full recovery, opposition parties disagree
“We are confident that the people of Mogale City will see accelerated provision of services from now onwards.”
Mogale City Local Municipality held a special council meeting on Tuesday, 27 February, during which the Executive Mayor Naga Patrick Lipudi tabled the adjustment budget for the 2017/ 2018 financial year. The budget was subsequently approved.
Nkosana Zali, spokesperson for the municipality, reported that the municipality has managed to produce a solid budget after reprioritisation of expenditure by following stringent cost-containment measures.
“The leadership of the municipality took full cognisance of the fact that Mogale City is in no way immune to harsh economic realities associated with the ongoing economic crisis in the country. Among the impacts are the serious cash flow challenges due to increase in the debt book, water losses, and ageing infrastructure requiring upgrading to accommodate the rapid development of the city,“ said Zali.
The proposed operating revenue budget has been adjusted by R126 million from R2,6 billion to R2,7 billion, based on the actual cash collected for the first half of the financial year. This income excludes capital transfers. It should be noted that the budget is now informed by cash collected and not anticipated collection, as well as well as a short-term debt or overdraft of R50 million which is to be repaid on 30 June 2018.
Total operating expenditure including non-cash items was adjusted by R176 million from R2,5 billion to R2,67 billion, which translates into an operating surplus of R279 million. This includes funds for capital transfers from national and provincial treasury (of this surplus, R229 million is grant funding for capital budget projects).
Whilst expenditure will increase from R2,5 billion to R2,6 billion, there will be a R7,8 million decrease in employee expenses and a R2,3 million decrease in special projects. There will also be a savings of R8 million in bulk purchases identified in water purchases.
The capital budget increased by R71 million (24 per cent) to R365 million in comparison to the original budget of R293 million.
The total consolidated adjustment budget for 2017/ 2018 moves Mogale City into the R3 billion mark, reflecting both the growth of the city and prudence within, as well as the viability of the institution.
“We have maintained a steady hand over the finances of the municipality in order to stabilise the institution after a disastrous 2016/ 2017 financial year and we are pleased that the results are now beginning to show,” said Mayor Lipudi after the meeting. “We are confident that the people of Mogale City will see accelerated provision of services from now onwards.”
Council also approved the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management (SPLUMA) by-laws as per the SPLUMA Act 16 of 2013. The by-laws were circulated internally for comment and public consultation was done in 2016, with further consultations done in 2017. The by-laws will be promulgated so that the municipality will be able to consolidate processes and procedures, and facilitate and make arrangements for the implementation of land development and land development applications, spatial planning and a land use scheme within the Mogale City jurisdiction.
Council approved a list of municipal-owned land parcels to be sold to the public for residential and church purposes. The land acquisition and disposal policy by which the sale of municipal stands will be done will also be considered in a special meeting of council to sit in the beginning of March. The full list and date of disposal will be made available to the public.
The News is awaiting comment from opposition parties who have expressed their concern at certain aspects of the budget. A follow-up article will be posted soon.
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